Megalenhydris
| Megalenhydris barbaricina | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Subfamily: | Lutrinae |
| Tribe: | Lutrini [1] |
| Genus: | Megalenhydris Willemsen & Maletesta, 1987 |
| Species: | M. barbaricina |
| Binomial name | |
| Megalenhydris barbaricina Willemsen & Maletesta, 1987 | |
Megalenhydris barbaricina is a Late Pleistocene giant otter from Sardinia.[2] It is known from a single skeleton, discovered in the Grotta di Ispinigoli near Dorgali, and was described in 1987.[1] It is one of four extinct otter species from Sardinia. The others are Algarolutra majori, Lutra castiglionis and Sardolutra ichnusae. This otter was large, much larger than the other species. The structure of the teeth points to a diet of shellfish and/or crustaceans. A special characteristic of the species are the flattened first few caudal vertebrae (the rest of the caudal vetrebrae are not known). This might point to a slightly flattened tail.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gerard F. Willemsen (2006). "Megalenhydris and its relationship to Lutra reconsidered" (PDF). Hellenic Journal of Geosciences 41: 83–87.
- ↑ G. F. Willemsen & A. Malatesta (1987). "Megalenhydris barbaricina sp. nov., a new otter from Sardinia". Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, B 90: 83–92.
External links
- Darren Naish (December 20, 2007). "Islands of otters and strange foxes". Tetrapod Zoology. ScienceBlogs.
- Lesley Wright (July 22, 2007). "Questions and Answers: In-Depth Responses". IUCN Otter Specialist Group.